I don’t have much experience with Jin Jun Mei, and the few I’ve tried weren’t good enough to justify the price. Thanks, Daylon R Thomas, for sending me this version from What-Cha. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 190F for 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
In the bag, this smells like chocolate, bread, rose, and dill pickle chips. (Yes, I know, I’m a barbarian.) I think this is an association with a certain floral, herbaceous note over the grainy base, but it’s very pronounced. The first steep has notes of chocolate, malt, bread, butter, sweet potato, rose, other flowers, smoke, and, sigh, slightly vegetal, salty pickle. The pickle dissipates in the second steep, where I get tobacco, smoke, chocolate, bread, rose, and more sweet potato. The next few steeps are more bready and malty, with rose, lavender, sweet potato, and faint smoke. Earth and minerals come in on steep five. The session goes on forever, and though the body thins out, the honey, bread, floral, and smoky notes continue. The session ends with malt, earth, minerals, smoke, dill, some vegetal notes, and slight florality.
This is a beautiful bready, chocolaty, rosy tea that goes many rounds. I have to say that the dill was a fun distraction, and I wonder what it is “supposed” to be for people with better palates. This tea has improved my opinion of Jin Jun Mei. I might have to try a small amount of the really pricy stuff to see how it compares.
Flavors: Bread, Butter, Chocolate, Dill, Earth, Floral, Grain, Herbaceous, Honey, Lavender, Malt, Mineral, Rose, Smoke, Sweet Potatoes, Tobacco, Umami, Vegetal
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I liked this one more than previous versions. I was so let down when it went out of season. The $1 per gram ones tend to be too vegetal for me, but this one is so good and complex. I am glad you liked it!
This JJM and the Lapsang must have been very popular, since to my knowledge, they were only on the site for a couple months. I do wonder what those pickle notes were supposed to be.
The roast????
Maybe, though I haven’t made that association with other roasted teas.
Can’t remember which ones but I’ve gotten pickle in some black teas. The only jin jum mei I can remember having is Old Ways Tea 2017. It was deep and low, complex with great fruity/citrusy and orchid accents, not at all chocolatey for me. Their 2017 Premium is a scary $4USD/g.
Yikes! That tea sounds amazing, though. It makes the 2021 fruity JJM from Wuyi Origin seem downright affordable at $19 for 25 g.
Sounds like the jin jun mei I should try! Except for the…sigh…dill pickle. :D
LOL, maybe you wouldn’t get that note, tea-sipper! I really liked What-Cha’s Jin Jun Mei.
I liked this one more than previous versions. I was so let down when it went out of season. The $1 per gram ones tend to be too vegetal for me, but this one is so good and complex. I am glad you liked it!
This JJM and the Lapsang must have been very popular, since to my knowledge, they were only on the site for a couple months. I do wonder what those pickle notes were supposed to be.
The roast????
Maybe, though I haven’t made that association with other roasted teas.
Can’t remember which ones but I’ve gotten pickle in some black teas. The only jin jum mei I can remember having is Old Ways Tea 2017. It was deep and low, complex with great fruity/citrusy and orchid accents, not at all chocolatey for me. Their 2017 Premium is a scary $4USD/g.
Yikes! That tea sounds amazing, though. It makes the 2021 fruity JJM from Wuyi Origin seem downright affordable at $19 for 25 g.
Sounds like the jin jun mei I should try! Except for the…sigh…dill pickle. :D
LOL, maybe you wouldn’t get that note, tea-sipper! I really liked What-Cha’s Jin Jun Mei.